Kingdom makes significant progress in nuclear reactors: Envoy

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has made significant progress in terms of acquiring technology to build nuclear reactors, and is working closely with South Korea on nuclear safety and security, South Korean Ambassador Kwon Pyung-oh said Wednesday.The Kingdom has sent 41 nuclear experts to South Korea for training and learning to design, construct and develop nuclear plants based on System-integrated Modular Advanced Reactor (SMART) technology, he added.“The basis of nuclear cooperation between our two countries is an MoU (memorandum of understanding) that was signed in March 2015 on the occasion of an official visit by Korea’s president to Saudi Arabia,” Pyung-oh said. “The MoU seeks to strengthen partnership in SMART reactor technology and human capacity-building in the nuclear sector between Korea and Saudi Arabia.”As a follow-up measure, the Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute and King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy signed a SMART pre-project engineering agreement in September 2015 that will remain in effect until November 2018, he said.South Korea is widely recognized as a leader in designing and building SMART reactors. “I expect nuclear cooperation between Korea and Saudi Arabia to deepen further by building on recent developments,” said the diplomat.The two countries signed another MoU to strengthen cooperation on nuclear safety, security and regulations, exchanging information, technical cooperation, education and training last November, he added. “I am confident that such efforts will lead to the successful construction and launch of SMART nuclear reactors in Saudi Arabia,” Kwon said, adding that SMART is a small-scale nuclear power plant equivalent to approximately a 10th of a full-scale commercial atomic power station. It is able to supply heat for seawater desalination, district heating and industrial purposes, and can be built at a low cost and within a short period of time.

Crown Prince: Future opportunities between Saudi Arabia and China are very big

Saudi Arabia and China signed economic cooperation agreements worth a total of $28 billion at a joint investment forum

The crown prince presided at a China-Saudi cooperation forum that concluded with 12 agreements on cooperation

Updated 4 min 17 sec ago

Arab News

February 22, 2019 15:24

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RIYADH: Future opportunities between Saudi Arabia and China are very big, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said Friday during his visit to China.

Citing a 33 percent increase in bilateral trade last year, the crown prince added that high-level contacts were paying off in areas from commerce to security and defense.
"Saudi Arabia's relations with China can be traced back a very long time in the past," Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told President Xi Jinping at their meeting in the Great Hall of the People in the heart of the Chinese capital.

Meanwhile, the Chinese president stressed his country's keenness on joint efforts with Saudi Arabia to support strategic relations between the two countries. He added that there has been coordination with Saudi Arabia on international and regional issues in recent years.

The crown prince earlier Friday presided at a China-Saudi cooperation forum that concluded with 12 agreements on cooperation in fields ranging from petroleum and the chemical industry to investment, renewable energy and counter-terrorism. Saudi Arabia is one of China's top crude oil suppliers and an important market for its exports.

Saudi Arabia and China also signed economic cooperation agreements worth a total of $28 billion at a joint investment forum. 35 agreements had been signed at the forum, held by Saudi Arabia’s investment agency SAGIA. Four licenses for Chinese companies were awarded at the forum.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also pledged Saudi Arabia's backing for China's gargantuan "belt and road" infrastructure project, saying he was willing to link it with the kingdom's Vision 2030 plans— a blueprint put forth by the crown prince to wean the kingdom off its reliance on oil, particularly as sustainable sources of energy become cheaper and more popular.
The Crown Prince's visit follows trips to India and Pakistan, which send millions of laborers to Saudi Arabia and are seeking closer economic ties.